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Sunday, February 1, 2015

Monterey Pines... Someday

The large pine cones I collected this fall to put in decorative glass jars had pine nuts. [Since I obviously don't have enough to do] I planted them. Here's my method:

Put the seeds in a glass of water overnight.

Keep the sinkers and discard the floaters.

Put them in a small zip lock bag with a damp paper towel and store in the refrigerator for a week. (I left them for a month.)

Plant in potting soil in a starter pot (or a cardboard egg carton.) It felt like grade school science fair!

Transplant into ground or larger pots.

Ten of the twelve came up within two weeks. They grow a very long, strong taproot which easily broke through the egg carton. I now know exposure to the air is not good for new pine roots.

Monterey Pine seedlings at 10 days.

Don't you love the way these seedlings squeeze out of their encasing brown pod and white kernel? They remind me of construction paper lanterns. Once free of the kernel, the seedlings spread like the ribs on an umbrella.

Monterey Pine seedlings transplanted to larger pots for their first year.

Eight healthy seedlings need to be transplanted to a permanent location this autumn. Any ideas?

5 comments:

Yes. I don't know what I was thinking! But I hope I can plant them along one of the walking trails. Did you know this is the most frequently planted pine in the world? Very successful in many countries like NZ and SA. The things I learn from my crazy impulses.

What an insightful thought, LeAnna. My mother and grandmother loved to garden, my children entered science fairs for years. Now that I have more free time, I’m wanting to reconnect with growth. It is joyous to see how much they’ve grown each day. I probably won't be here to see their final maturity but it's a privilege to be part of the processThanks!